NHL puts Predators, Bruins on pause through holiday break

As expected, there have been more postponements around the league as a result of the sharp increase in players testing positive for COVID-19. The league announced that the Bruins and Predators have had their games postponed through the holiday break while three other contests this weekend have been postponed including Saturday's Canucks-Maple Leafs contest. A full summary of the postponed games by team from today’s announcement is as follows:

Arizona: Dec. 19 at Vancouver
Boston: Dec. 19 at Ottawa, Dec. 21 vs Carolina, Dec. 23 vs Colorado
Nashville: Dec. 19 at Carolina, Dec. 21 vs Winnipeg
Seattle: Dec. 19 vs Toronto
Toronto: Dec. 18 at Vancouver, Dec. 19 at Seattle
Vancouver: Dec. 18 vs Toronto, Dec. 19 vs Arizona

These postponements come on the heels of Calgary, Colorado, and Florida all having their games postponed yesterday through the holiday break plus Saturday's Boston-Montreal contest.  No games have been rescheduled at this time.

The NHL has a window to withdraw their participation from the upcoming Olympics. As a result of the outbreak that has hit the league and with five teams currently out of action plus the Senators and Islanders having missed games earlier this season due to COVID, it will be interesting to see if they’re able to reschedule all of those games without needing to use the three-week break for the Olympics. The NHL can withdraw without financial penalty if the decision is made by January 10.